Saturday, November 21, 2009

Duke's hopes to play in its first bowl game in 15 seasons are apparently gone.

Jacory Harris completed 25 of 43 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 21 Miami used a big fourth quarter to put the Blue Devils away 34-16 at Land Shark Stadium.

Duke led 16-10 early in the third period before the hosts recovered to put the game away. Miami (8-3, 5-3 ACC) outgained the Blue Devils 252 yards to 118 over the game's final 26 minutes.

Miami native Thaddeus Lewis (pictured) completed 20 of 37 passes for 303 yards for Duke, which fell to 5-6 and 3-4 with its third straight loss. The performance gave Lewis the Blue Devils' career passing yardage lead with 9,678. Fellow Miami native Donovan Varner caught eight passes for a career-high 165 yards and a touchdown for Duke.

Even with a win over Wake Forest in the season finale in Durham, the Blue Devils would likely not be able to play on a bowl game since one of the victories was over transitioning Division I (FCS) N.C. Central.